Encouraging Hiring of Returners: An Email Trial

This document describes an evaluation of a policy intervention aimed at increasing engagement with emails among HR professionals regarding the recruitment of individuals returning to work after a career break, known as 'returners.' The intervention tested different behavioral principles—such as salience, social norms, and loss aversion—in email communication to promote returner programs and address gender disparities in workforce participation. The evaluation was conducted through a randomized controlled trial involving 23,095 HR professionals, with click-through rates, open rates, and time spent on a landing page as outcome measures. Results indicated that emails emphasizing social norms were most effective in increasing engagement, although overall engagement was lower than in previous trials. The study concluded that while future social norms messaging shows promise, further research is needed to refine communication strategies and better understand employer perceptions. Appendices provided additional details on analytical strategies, email content, and balance checks, while a bibliography listed relevant literature on behavioral insights and related topics. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: Government Equalities Office (GEO)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Randomised control trial (RCT)
• RCT methods: No RCT methods listed
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: June 2018

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes